


Heart on the Line

by SadistiKitteh



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alcohol, Background Citronshipping, Eventual Happy Ending, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Friends to Lovers, Karaoke, M/M, Mutual Pining, TKB is "Thiefy"
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-09
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2021-02-25 05:28:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21730828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SadistiKitteh/pseuds/SadistiKitteh
Summary: Bakura bets his love life and Ryou's pulled into helping him by playing the loving boyfriend. Neither expected for anything serious to come out of it, but things change drastically during a double date with their friends.
Relationships: Bakura Ryou/Yami Bakura, Thief King Bakura/Marik Ishtar
Comments: 17
Kudos: 43





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [justapal](https://archiveofourown.org/users/justapal/gifts).



> Happy Birthday Pal! :D
> 
> As what's apparently usual, what was meant to be a cute one-shot became something with a couple chapters or more :P Will try to get the next chapters up as soon as I'm able~

Bakura tried to look nonchalant about his visit to Ryou’s, but it seemed Ryou knew him too well. When he opened the door, Ryou took one look at him and crossed his arms. “Okay, what do you need out of this time?”

“How the hell do you do that?”

“Host secret,” Ryou smirked at him, how annoying, “Are you coming in, or?”

“I just need you to hear me out.”

“Oh god Bakura, what did you _do_?”

“Nothing!” Bakura barked a bit too defensively, “I just...might’ve told Malik we’ve been dating.”

Ryou slowly brought his hand to his temple, rubbing it. He really could play up the dramatics when he wanted to. “Why...did you say that?”

“He told me I’d never go out with anyone because I was too much of an asshole to catch anyone’s interest! I wasn’t taking that lying down!”

“So you told Malik we were dating?!”

Bakura flinched. “Yeah...and that I had proof it’s been longer than a month.”

Ryou groaned Bakura’s name, leaning his head against the door frame. Bakura shifted uncomfortably, smiling weakly. “I’ll do something for you for a month?”

Ryou exhaled loudly, glaring at Bakura. “And what exactly would that be?”

“Eerr…” Bakura scratched the back of his head. “Do your homework?”

“Nope”

“Wash your car?”

“Not letting you _near_ my car.”

“Buy your food for a month!”

Ryou shook his head. “How about you come clean my apartment for two months, and I can call you at any time to clean?”

“Fine, just...please help!”

Ryou laughed, stepping back to let Bakura in. “We should start planning then; you’re really desperate to prove a point, huh?”

Bakura flushed, grumbling as he trudged into Ryou’s apartment. He decided to leave out the fact he promised Malik that he’d buy him anything he wanted if he couldn’t come up with anything. That something ended up being thousands of dollars in modifications to one of his bikes.

Damn Malik and his bloody bike fetish.

Bakura slumped onto Ryou’s couch while Ryou made them coffee. “We should go take pictures or video, act like we’re on a date and do weird couple-y stuff.”

“Tomorrow, they’ll know if you just started now.”

Ryou came into the room with two mugs, handing one to Bakura. “Is there a time limit? I mean, when do you next see Malik?”

Bakura shrugged, sipping at his coffee.

“Well, make an excuse if you do. We can do this all on my phone so you have a reason for not having anything, like you forgot to ask.”

Bakura turned to stare at Ryou, the other casually looking through his phone as he sipped his coffee. “You’re really going all in with this, aren’t you?”

Ryou smiled then. “Gotta make it look authentic, you made it sound like a bit more than your pride was at stake. You never say _please_ for anything.”

Bakura grumbled, annoyed at how easily Ryou hit the nail on the head. And he had the nerve to laugh. “Nailed it in one, didn’t I?”

“Fuck you.”

“Only if you ask nicely, honey.” Ryou teased, and laughed again when Bakura shoved him.

* * *

They spent the night plotting out what kinds of pictures would be more convincing, Bakura insisting on one or two videos of them feeding ducks or on one of their ‘dates’. He knew Malik was thorough, and he’d be damned if he was paying for that bike.

Malik was suspicious at how long it took, but the fact Ryou was the sentimental one and had insisted on showing a video or two seemed to stall well enough.

A week later, Bakura presented the images and video Ryou sent him via text, silently hoping it was enough. Annoyingly enough, Malik’s boyfriend decided to stick his nose in their bet.

“Didn’t think you’d be such a romantic, Batty.” he teased, the scar across his cheek stretching as he smirked.

“Shut up, Thiefy.” Bakura huffed, slumping back in the chair. “We weren’t going to announce anything yet.”

“Oh?” Malik looked up, with a sly expression on his face that instantly made Bakura’s stomach drop. “So we’re the first to know? When will you be telling everyone else?”

Everyone else, of course, meaning Yugi and his group. Bakura really hoped he wouldn’t push this too far, not sure how far Ryou would go for his sake. “Yeah, he probably won’t be happy that you know first.”

Thiefy looked at Malik and tsked. “We wouldn’t tell anyone, but I think we should make it up to them for this silly bet. Don’t you think, Malik?”

The mischievous look in Malik’s eyes returned. “Of course, _habibi_! Why don’t we go out on a double date, Bakura? We’ve always wanted to, but we had no one to go with. We’ll set everything up, you just have to bring Ryou~”

Damn it all. Bakura almost got away with it.

But four could play at this game.

“I’ll think about it, Ryou...probably should know you know.”

“You do that, I’ll be waiting for your text.” Malik handed Bakura’s phone back with a wink, causing Thiefy to chuckle.

“Sorry if you end up sleeping on the couch tonight, Batty” Thiefy said with a laugh, turning away to grab himself a drink.

Bakura sneered, flipping his middle finger at the man’s back.

Maybe he could bargain with cleaning for four months.

* * *

Ryou sat on his couch with his head in his hands. He may have actually had fun playing boyfriend with Bakura for a week for those photos, but in front of someone he _knew_? On a double date?

“ _Bakura_ …”

“...Yeah, I know.”

“Bakura, how long are you going to play this _up_?”

“As long as it takes to not empty my bank account for a stupid bet– Okay, look, I’ll just text that you’re pissed and don’t want to, they’ll leave us alone.”

Ryou lifted his head, staring at Bakura blankly. “And if they ask later?”

Bakura groaned, flopping back on the couch. “Fuck.”

“Yeah, fuck! What if Yugi or the others see us? They’re not in on this!”

Bakura bit his lip. “We could...get them–”

“No, no way Bakura, this is between you and me. We’ll just accept the invite.”

“What?!”

Ryou ignored him, standing up and going into the kitchen. “If we do this, we need to do it right. We should at least get to know each other better.”

Bakura scoffed. “I know plenty about you, Ryou!”

Ryou returned with a couple shot glasses and a bottle of whiskey, eyebrow raised. “What’s my favourite colour?”

Bakura smirked. “Blue.”

“Wrong, magenta.” Ryou opened the bottle and filled one of the glasses, holding it out to Bakura. “Drink.”

Bakura snorted, taking the glass and downing the shot, fighting a cough afterwards. “Didn’t take you for a whisky guy.”

Ryou smirked. “We guess and take a shot if we’re wrong, the asker takes a shot if the answer's right.”

“Idiot, we’ll forget half the things we learn!”

Ryou rolled his eyes. “Just play, I’ll get us sodas to keep us sober enough.”

They played this game back and forth for a while, from the small facts to trying to guess who they’d sleep with if they were down. Bakura forgot to stop drinking and ended up too drunk to even think about getting a ride home.

Ryou offered him the couch, and Bakura giggled. “Th’efy bett’r be fuckin’ sorry.”

Ryou snorted despite not getting at all what Bakura was referring to. “Hey les’just...since you’re staying, we could try to play a game drunk.”

“Hell yeah.” Bakura sat up quickly, then slumped over with a giggle. “Oops. Waay too fast!”

Bakura fell asleep part way through the game, losing too many times to really play and ended up dozing off while waiting for Ryou to find and revive him again. When he woke up, his head felt achy and there was a weight on his body.

Confused, he looked down to see Ryou fast asleep draped on him. Bakura blinked, then smirked at the opportunity the universe just handed him. He reached carefully for his phone and smiled tiredly at the camera, snapping a picture.

He sent it to Malik with a text after:

_don’t be sorry, the couch is quite comfortable ;)_.

* * *

Bakura stared at the picture days later as he was getting dressed for the double date. Why the hell did he think it was a good idea? He wanted to just look smug, but he must have been too relaxed because he actually seemed…

Smitten.

What the fuck? He could never show Ryou this, and hoped the other two wouldn’t make any mention of it.

Bakura was buttoning up his shirt when he heard a knock at the door, followed by a text from Ryou: 

_changed my mind_

_ur doing six months cleaning 4 this_.

Bakura scoffed, making sure he looked nice enough before opening the door. Ryou had his hair up in a ponytail, and still staring at his phone. “We have a couple minutes, so we have some time to…”

Ryou trailed off as he looked up, blinking at Bakura’s choice of form fitting attire. “Wow. So you can dress nice when you actually need to. But aren’t you a little over-dressed for this?”

Bakura scoffed, brushing off the comment on his clothing choices. “For a Malik Ishtar planned outing? If anything, I’m under-dressed.”

“...Am I under–”

“You’re fine.” Bakura said, snatching his keys before closing the door behind him. “At least we’d match.”

Ryou followed Bakura down to his car, still staring at his phone. “...Bakura, what’s my favourite dessert?”

“Profiteroles, but you don’t mind any other cream filled pastry.”

Ryou stopped, staring at Bakura. “How–”

“Observation, do you know mine?”

Ryou looked flustered, shoving his phone in his pocket before getting into Bakura’s car. “No, you don’t eat desserts.”

Bakura blinked, amused by how flustered Ryou got at him getting something right. “Half right. Everything is too sweet for me, and I guess just chocolate wouldn’t be considered a dessert.”

They took their time driving, quizzing each other on what they learned the night before and laughing at how little they actually ended up getting right still. They nearly ended up late to the restaurant Malik said to meet them, but neither cared.

Bakura was unprepared for Ryou’s sudden switch to ‘boyfriend mode’, breath stuttering in his chest when Ryou took his hand and pressed close to his side. It was the same a couple days into the date photo shoots, but that time it only made it look more authentic.

Besides, Bakura never was touched like this, so it was easy to excuse how his heart jumped in his chest at the brush of Ryou’s shoulders against his own.

Malik waved them down from a table, predictably dressed like impress. His boyfriend simply wore a tight fitting t-shirt, yet he somehow still looked as well dressed as Malik. “There’s the lovebirds!” he called.

Ryou only giggled, acting embarrassed and pressing his face into Bakura’s arm. “Shhh! Guys!”

“People are going to know at some point, Ryou.” Malik laughed as they sat down, giving Bakura an extra cheeky look. “I guess I should say congrats first, sorry that Bakura’s pride outed you guys.”

“Hey, you were implying I couldn’t get a date because I was an asshole!” Bakura huffed, having to steel himself before kissing the side of Ryou’s head.

Performing for photos and video was vastly different than now, and he felt flustered from all the PDA Ryou insisted on displaying. Thankfully, it seemed to only be a show for their entrance, because Ryou pulled away to glare at Malik.

“I know he can be an ass sometimes, but he’s sweet when he wants to be. It’s not fair he had to prove himself to you.”

Malik actually looked embarrassed, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m sorry Ryou, really. I just didn’t believe of _anyone_ , you’d be his partner. He didn’t really say it was a secret until after.”

“Not that it seemed to bother you too much, did it Bakura?” Thiefy asked, giving an almost sadistic grin.

Ryou gave Bakura a curious glance, and he hoped his cheeks didn’t betray his guilt. He instead cleared his throat, picking up the menu to look through. “So how are we splitting this? Pay for each other’s meals, or individual–”

“Oh no, we’ve got everything Bakura,” Malik said, earning a nervous glance from his boyfriend, “It’s the least we could do for accidentally outing you guys before you were ready.”

Ryou smiled wide, but a hint of guilt showed. “Oh thank you so much, Malik. I was worried I might not have brought enough…”

“I would’ve paid for you.” Bakura mumbled, torn between taking advantage of Malik’s generosity or not so Ryou wouldn’t feel guilty.

He wasn’t sure why it mattered to him, but he went with it. Made it more believable.

“I swear we won’t abuse that in any way, we’re just here to enjoy a double date with friends! Right, Ryou?”

“...Yeah, of course love.” Ryou said, but gave Bakura a warning glance.

Now Malik and Thiefy looked nervous. “For what it’s worth,” Malik said slowly, casually flipping through his menu, “I wasn’t going to make you pay for the whole thing. The bike I mean.”

Thiefy smiled softly before taking Malik’s hand and kissing it. Bakura huffed at the display, annoyed that he worried for nothing.

Well, almost nothing. He still wouldn’t pay for Malik’s bike in any way over a stupid bet.

“Bakura doesn’t have that much money, Malik. That wasn’t cool.”

“Ah, he just felt guilty that I was paying so much for his birthday gift.” Thiefy said, nudging Malik playfully, “Not that I wouldn’t take the help if it was a lost bet.”

Ryou shook his head, looking actually pretty upset by the new information. “Still not cool.”

“Whatever Ryou, I was the one that accepted those terms.” Bakura put a hand on Ryou’s arm, worried he’d actually get too upset to keep up their act.

“Again, I’m sorry Ryou,” Malik said, putting a hand over Ryou’s, “I should have just asked you or something instead of making bets. It’s your love life, I get it.”

Ryou suddenly seemed to remember what he was acting for, and sighed, leaning against Bakura. “Get yourself the best steak they have, love. I think they owe us at least that.”

Bakura froze, unaware that Ryou knew that was exactly what his favourite food was. He slowly nodded, looking through the menu for a good selection. He wouldn’t eat it like he normally did, but still Malik seemed to flinch.

Thiefy noticed as well, gently moving closer to Malik. “Get me what you get, I don’t feel like pork today.”

Malik looked at him with a grateful expression, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. Bakura felt, compared to them, he and Ryou didn’t look like much of a couple. Sure, Malik and Thiefy had been together for a couple years now, but…

Bakura wasn’t one to be upstaged.

The waiter showed up to refill drinks and took their orders, and Ryou chatted with Thiefy about his work in carpentry, asking about things he could use for his TTRPGs. Bakura had to open his mouth and suggest they try a campaign sometime, playing up Ryou’s Game Master skills and the fun he had in their campaigns.

Which was a lie, Ryou was always frustrated with Bakura because he looked for loopholes and cheats in any game they ever played together. They hadn’t played a campaign together in a very long time.

Ryou seemed excited by the idea, perhaps thinking Bakura would be any different with Malik and his boyfriend playing. Ha, as if.

After a brief bit of catching up and Ryou talking animatedly about their ‘date’ while leaning on Bakura’s shoulder, their food arrived. Bakura picked up a knife and fork and Malik seemed to relax drastically.

“Oh come on, I’m not going to tear into steak like usual in a restaurant this packed!”

Malik raised an eyebrow, and Bakura just scoffed, cutting himself a piece of thick and juicy steak to eat his first bite. By the GODS was it amazing! Not even thinking much about it, he cut another piece to offer Ryou.

Bakura must have had some kind of look on his face, because Ryou’s cheeks reddened before he put his own fork down to take the bite. Bakura swallowed his mouthful, smiling seeing Ryou’s surprised expression. “Yeah, it’s amazing isn’t it? Definitely worth the cost.”

Bakura was about to take another bite of his steak, when Ryou held up his own forkful of food. He’d ordered some kind of seafood dish that smelled very citrus-y. Not really his thing, but he took the bite happily, blushing lightly as he did so.

He glanced at the other two, but they were too absorbed in feeding each other from their plates, speaking to each other quietly in Arabic. It was very intimate, and in no way were they paying attention to them.

Bakura was confused. Why would Ryou be returning the favour then?

“Is mine good too?” Ryou asked, looking a bit embarrassed himself realizing they weren’t being seen at all.

Bakura nodded, hesitating a moment before offering the piece of steak on his fork. “Trade another bite of mine for another of yours?”

Ryou laughed quietly, collecting a good amount of crab and shrimp drenched in the citrus-y dressing before holding it out for Bakura.

They reached for their bites at the same time, their noses brushing as they did so. Ryou pulled back quickly, his face even redder than before. Bakura’s face felt hot as well, confused about what exactly just happened.

Ryou and Bakura continued eating their own meals and no longer shared, the other couple completely oblivious to what had happened.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a bit longer, because it got away from me :3c I like describing falling in love, is fun~

After finishing their meals, Malik announced their next stop was a karaoke bar. Bakura almost laughed when he had suggested it. “Seriously, karaoke? You don’t like singing.”

“You don’t know anything.” Malik rolled his eyes, “Besides, it’s fun with more than a couple people and a few drinks.”

Ryou looked excited. “It really is, I haven’t gone in so long…”

Bakura glanced at Ryou at that, and Malik gave him a sympathetic look. “Worried you’d blurt out something while drinking?”

Ryou hesitated, but nodded. “Y-Yeah...something like that.”

Bakura huffed. He knew Yugi’s friends didn’t ask Ryou to hang out much anymore, only because he was either engrossed in his RPGs or too focused on his studies to really have the time. Maybe he’d do a favour for Ryou and rally them up on a day he wasn’t busy.

To make up for all this, of course. Maybe get a week or two off from cleaning duties. That’s all.

Malik paid the bill and they were off; Malik and his boyfriend leading the way in their sleek muscle car (of course it would be Thiefy’s). Bakura followed, but didn’t dare touch the speed they sometimes went. Ryou bit his lip, and Bakura had a feeling he’d been trying to say something since they got in the car.

“You know, I meant what I said.” Ryou finally spoke up, looking out the window and away from Bakura.

“About what?”

“You can be nice, when you want to be. You’re only an asshole when you’re stubborn about something. That, and you bicker all the time with Malik, so what would he know?”

Bakura was surprised by the response. He never really saw himself as nice or kind, he kept people at a distance. He wanted to enjoy the life given to him, rather than spend it angry at the world.

Well, he was still angry at it, just slightly less now that he had more in his life.

Despite his thoughts, Bakura scoffed. “You’re gonna ruin my reputation, Ryou. I’m a renowned asshole.”

“Well, I wouldn’t want to ruin that for you.”

At a stop light, Ryou spoke up again. “At some point, we should tell him it’s fake.”

“Huh?”

“Our relationship? He looked like he genuinely felt bad for forcing that secret out.”

Bakura huffed. “No way, he’s using his pretty boy guilty face to get us to slip up. They’re expecting us to stop after saying he feels bad. We can play boyfriends for a while, and then we can pretend we fought and broke up. Everything’s over.”

Ryou shifted in his seat. “Not...right away, okay? That might seem suspicious.”

Bakura noticed the slight hesitation as Ryou said it, but agreed nonetheless. It definitely would seem suspicious.

They pulled into the lot of the Karaoke Bar, a neon Winged Kuriboh flying under a line of music notes. It made Bakura roll his eyes from how cheesy it looked, but Ryou only looked more excited. “Oh, I’ve always wanted to try this place but I never had the cash or time! Ugh, I should hug Malik for this.”

Bakura pouted at how easily Malik had won Ryou’s favour. “Oh come on, we’re supposed to be mad at him!”

Ryou leaned in close, enough to cause Bakura’s heart to jump at the intrusion of space. “Oh, I am, but I’m absolutely taking what he’s offering. Let’s so how many hours in a room he’s willing to pay for!”

Bakura suppressed a shiver when Ryou finally pulled away and stepped out of the car. Bakura stepped out, seeing Ryou already joined Malik and Thiefy. He jogged to catch up, playing off the redness in his cheeks as the cold.

“I hope we can get a room, this place can get so busy…”

Malik waved his hand, his other arm wrapped around Thiefy’s waist. “No worries, I booked a two hour session with appetizer platter and endless soda refills for the designated drivers, we’re good.”

“Driver, no way I’m doing this sober.” Thiefy laughed, “How’s your singing voice, Batty?”

Bakura grumbled, leering at Thiefy. Ryou, meanwhile, looked starry eyed. “Oh Malik, you’re so awesome for this.”

Malik smirked, obviously preening just to annoy Bakura. “I don’t do dates halfway, they need to be fun. Especially double dates. We’re a bit early, so we can explore the lobby a little.”

Bakura had to admit, it was amusing to see how excited Ryou was about the place. He hung back as Ryou explored and gushed about the fun menu, but all he could see was how bright Ryou’s eyes were. How the neon lights reflected off his hair and sweater, making him almost glow. It matched his smile.

Suddenly the spell was broken and he turned away, quietly panicking at how transfixed he was. What the _hell_ was that?! It must be the lighting in this place messing with his eyes.

A nudge interrupted his thoughts, Bakura glaring at a smirking Thiefy.

He, of course, ignored Bakura completely. His eyes were obviously on Malik. “Not gonna lie, coming here is worth it to see how happy he is.”

Bakura huffed, glancing at Malik. He and Ryou seemed to be talking about the menu, maybe laughing at the weird names given to the drinks. Ryou was laughing, his smile pinching his cheeks and brow creased in happiness. His eyes crinkled just so, but he could still see the reflection of neon in his beautiful brown eyes–

A pat on the shoulder snapped him out of it, and Bakura growled, rubbing his eyes. “These damn neons are messing with my eyes, when do we get in the room?”

Thiefy snorted. “Yeah, the lighting’s kinda starting to bug my eye too. Hey Malik!”

Thiefy pushed off the wall and walked toward the other two. Ryou seemed to finally remember Bakura was there, walking over while the other two talked. He looked embarrassed, Bakura noticed. “Sorry, I got so excited, I completely forgot what we’re doing here.”

Bakura sighed. “Whatever, at least you like this place. The neons or whatever is in the air is making my eyes act weird or messing with my head.”

Ryou took Bakura’s face in his hands. Bakura froze, barely breathing as Ryou moved his face a little closer. “Hmm, your eyes _do_ look a little red…” Ryou said, giving Bakura a serious look before it slipped into a cheeky smile.

The pun was delayed by the sudden contact, but Bakura snorted a laugh when he caught the double meaning. “Oh fuck off.” Bakura laughed, nudging Ryou playfully.

“Come on, lovebirds, room’s open for us!” Thiefy called, Malik waving them over to the hall entrance.

The room Malik rented ended up being at the back of the hall, one of the larger rooms available. Malik and Thiefy took the seats on one side and Bakura took the other, Ryou immediately taking the booklet of songs to flip through.

“I hope there’s songs all of us know here, but trying to make up lyrics is fun too.”

Ryou casually pressed into Bakura’s side, leaning his head on Bakura’s shoulder.

“We don’t have to start right away, the appetizers should be here in a bit. I’m guessing you’re going to be driving Ryou home, Bakura?”

Bakura scoffed. “If Thiefy’s drinking, I am too. Shame though, didn’t think you’d be willing to leave that car in the lot, Thiefy.”

“Like anyone steals from me.” Thiefy said, picking up a drink menu, “I’m buying the first round of sake, who wants one?”

Malik and Bakura both agreed, but Ryou declined. “I want to try all the cocktails they have, so I know what to recommend.”

Malik smiled knowingly. “Does that mean food, too?”

“Yep!”

Thiefy laughed. “I envy your ability to still be hungry after dinner, bet you hold a drink well too!”

Ryou blushed, using Bakura’s shoulder to hide himself. Without thinking, Bakura wrapped an arm around him. “Oi, no teasing about that.”

“Sorry, Ry.” Thiefy chuckled, flashing them a grin, “No harm meant, yeah?”

“Well, that was part of the reason I got the appetizer sampler,” Malik admitted, shrugging, “I thought you would want to try everything.”

Ryou looked more embarrassed, looking at his lap. “Well, yeah...not all at once though.”

Fake relationship or not, Bakura was not pleased that they pointed out Ryou’s eating habits. It was something left over from the Ring, and he’d be damned if he let Ryou feel shame over it; especially with Bakura there.

“I think for that, Thiefy should go first.” Bakura took the booklet and pushed it in front of Thiefy. “Serenade your boyfriend, scarface.”

That earned a leer from Thiefy and a disapproving look from Malik. Malik slid to Thiefy’s side, murmuring into his ear. “Go on _haibibi_ , pick a duet and I’ll sing with you.”

Thiefy grinned, a hint of a blush staining his cheeks. “Well, if you’re asking…~”

While they poured over the booklet, Ryou looked up at Bakura with a frown. “That wasn’t nice, Bakura.”

“Yeah, well, if he’s going to joke about something you’re sensitive about…”

“Doesn’t make it right.” Ryou mumbled, moving away from Bakura.

Bakura didn’t expect it, already missing the slight weight of Ryou’s body against him. He huffed, ignoring it. “You know I’m an ass, Ryou.”

“Stop saying that, that’s not all you are Bakura.”

Bakura blinked, once again caught off by Ryou’s words. The small hint of an argument seemed to catch Malik’s attention, distracting him from the booklet. Bakura huffed, taking Ryou’s hand and kissing it. “Didn’t think it was fair they poke fun at you, that’s all.”

“I said sorry.” Thiefy mumbled, Malik giving him a small peck on the cheek to reassure him.

“Let’s not argue, okay? We’re here to have fun, let’s just enjoy the food and drinks and loosen up.” Malik said, pointing at a song in the booklet he thought was familiar.

Only a few minutes later, just as Thiefy was looking for the song they picked, the appetizer platter arrived, along with drinks Ryou and Malik apparently had been ordering for everyone. Thiefy decided food and drink can wait, pulling Malik away from his first bite to sing.

They did okay, but were too busy laughing at how cheesy the song was to try and sing. Ryou cheered happily at the end, offering them both pieces of fried vegetables.

No one sang for a while after that, opting to chat and snack and drink their cocktails. Bakura was fairly tipsy by the time he decided to sing, as was everyone else. He pecked Ryou’s cheek, receiving a short laugh and flushed face for his trouble.

Cute. Dammit, Ryou was cute.

He didn’t second guess his thought, flipping through the book and slowly standing to grab the microphone.

Little did anyone else know, he had a little trick up his sleeve: a small voice warper device that he happened to have in the car and decided to bring with him. He brought it to make it so he wouldn’t be forced to sing a second time, but he had a different motive for using it now.

Some part of his brain wanted to see Ryou laugh again, just to make sure what happened in the lobby was _only_ in the lobby.

He picked out the cheesiest love song he could find, wondering how Ryou would play along. Ryou dazedly watched and Bakura winked before bringing the voice warper to his mouth before he started to sing.

His Japanese was never good, but it was brought out more by the warper. It made him laugh to hear how his own voice sounded, and he could hear Thiefy bark out a ‘What the fuck?’ before laughing along.

Bakura’s attention was on Ryou though, who was in the throes of laughter himself. It wasn’t as dream-like as it was in the lobby, but he found himself transfixed on Ryou’s face anyway. He liked making Ryou laugh, liked the way his face crinkled and the quiet squeaks snuck through as he tried to breathe between laughter.

The thoughts ran through his brain unfiltered, enough that he eventually pulled the warper away and finished the song without it, only bringing it to his lips again after the song finished. “That was for you, honey.” Bakura said through the warper, grinning when it sent a fresh fit of laughter through Ryou.

Before Bakura could sit back down, Ryou grabbed and pulled him into his lap. “Com’ere.”

Bakura’s face felt hot again, and he was just barely aware of what Ryou was going to do before his lips pressed against Bakura.

Hot. Too hot, his face was burning and his lips tingling and he was dazed when Ryou pulled away. Ryou seemed to look shocked from what he just did, face slowly growing more red. To hide the mutual surprise, Bakura buried his face into Ryou’s neck. Behind him Malik whistled. “Slow down you two, wait until the date’s over before you start pawing all over each other.”

“Hey, if they’re not holding back…” Thiefy purred, sliding himself into Malik’s lap.

“Oh, stop.” Malik laughed, only lightly pushing on Thiefy’s chest but making no other attempts to stop a kiss from happening.

Bakura pulled back a bit, glancing at Ryou’s face. Seeing it was still red, and then remembering he was in Ryou’s lap, he slid off to sit next to Ryou. “Nice one.” Bakura murmured, chuckling quietly.

Ryou didn’t respond, nudging Bakura gently but hiding his face and smiling.

The rest of the night went on like that, drinking and snacking and flirting to keep an appearance up. But the more Bakura drank, the easier it felt to flirt with Ryou. The easier the blush came to his cheeks when Ryou flirted back. The less he minded when Thiefy and Malik teased them for being ‘young lovers’. Ryou seemed to do better with each drink as well, his blush and laughter coming to him as easily as any well-practiced actor.

But Bakura began noticing small things too, like how Ryou’s body fit snugly against him like it belonged there. Looking down at their clasped hands, their fingers curled perfectly together. Many times he caught himself staring at Ryou, the lights in the room made his hair almost glow. Not the same way that it did in the lobby, but more ethereal.

It caught him off guard when he blurted out. “You’re beautiful.”

Ryou’s eyes grew wide, dilated, blood rushing to his cheeks. Beautiful. Wow, how did he not see this before? Ryou was beautiful. Ryou pecked his cheek and Bakura giggled, burying his face into the glowing hair of an angel.

Beautiful.

“Okay, I think he’s had enough.” Malik laughed, though he sounded endeared to the affectionate display.

“Shit, he was drivin’, wasn’t he?” Thiefy murmured, sounding like he was pulling himself out of a drunken haze. “Dammit, I was too…”

Malik chuckled, and Bakura could hear the soft pop of lips in what was undoubtedly a brief kiss. “We agreed we were walking home, _habibi_. I’ll order us all water, we should at least be sober enough to walk home. And I guess you’ll be taking Bakura home, Ryou?”

Ryou nodded, pulling Bakura out of his stupor enough to pull away from him and lean back against the seat. “Sleeping on the couch ‘gain.” Bakura chuckled.

Malik had glasses of water and soda ordered, and Ryou picked up the booklet again. “I think I’ll do one more song, one for you.” he said, nudging Bakura lightly.

Bakura lifted up his arms in a victory pose, making Thiefy snort a laugh. Ryou giggled as well, standing to input the song. “C’mere ‘kura, you’re singin’ too.”

“Eh?”

Ryou smiled sweetly. “Malik and Thiefy did a duet, I wanna do one before we leave.”

Wow, did the lights on the karaoke machine make Ryou’s hair pretty. So pretty Bakura simply stood and slowly made his way to Ryou’s side, just to see that hair up close. He wondered if his hair was just as pretty.

Ryou handed Bakura the other microphone and played the music. He was familiar with this one, or at least knew it was a favourite of Ryou’s. He was able to sing along well enough, even if his slurring or skipping words made him laugh.

And Ryou’s eyes were so bright as they sang, forgetting momentarily that it was just a song and Ryou was only pretending to sing his deepest emotions into Bakura’s heart.

Not that it knew better, as he felt butterflies in his stomach.

The song ended, and they were staring into each other’s eyes. Bakura knew Ryou was an attractive man, but being so close he actually could appreciate that.

‘...am I attracted to Ryou?’

That was the first semi-sober thought he’d had since walking into this room, and it hit like a blow to the face. Ryou was attractive, very attractive. He was pretty, in fact.

Bakura called him beautiful. How much of that did he mean?

Ryou guided him to the seats and offered a glass of water, which he happily chugged. The less drunk he was, the more he realized what he’d been doing for the past two hours.

He had flirted, honestly flirted with Ryou.

Winked at him and grinned when Ryou played off like it made him embarrassed.

Buried his face into his hair and stayed, because it felt too soft to just move away.

Bakura let Ryou guide him out the door and out into the streets, only hazily remembering to wave goodbye to the other couple as they split away. He compulsively pressed his body to Ryou’s. It was more to keep upright, absolutely not because Ryou was warm and he loved how this felt.

Right?

They made it easily enough to Ryou’s apartment, and they had sobered up enough from the walk that Bakura knew it wasn’t the alcohol making him do things anymore.

He still liked being pressed to Ryou’s side. He missed burying his face into Ryou’s hair. And the lights of the apartment reflecting on Ryou’s face made him look nearly god-like.

Oh _no_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Managed to fit in that bit, Pal knows what :P (Okay, it might be kinda obvious too lol)
> 
> Next chapter, Bakura deals with his feels and Ryou somehow thinks he doesn't return them. (They're both idiots :P)


	3. Chapter 3

Bakura tried to keep composure, pretending none of what happened had happened. Ryou seemed to not notice, barely glancing at Bakura when he came over days later to help Ryou clean his living room for a game night.

It was a relief, yet somewhat painful. He knew that if Ryou had to choose, Bakura would be the _last_ person he’d want to date. It was obvious why, and it likely would’ve been mentioned if it weren’t for Thiefy’s ‘no Item talk’ rule.

That he agreed with, it was too awkward to even approach the idea that he and Thiefy were somehow the same and yet not. But it was something he and Ryou freely discussed, and he was sure Ryou only felt a kinship with him because he had once inhabited Ryou’s body.

No, the way things were now was comfortable. And while Malik and Thiefy seemed okay about it, he didn’t want to think about what Yugi might have to say, or any of Ryou’s other friends.

Plus this was supposed to be a ruse to get out of buying Malik’s bike customization, it probably didn’t mean anything to Ryou. He probably even thought Bakura was a better actor than expected, especially drunk.

They discussed doing fake shoots, Ryou now wanting to send Malik updates having apparently gotten into some sort of trade with date pictures. Bakura guessed it was to make sure it was all truthful, even slipping in a couple casual hang out photos Ryou happened to take.

Bakura couldn’t lie to himself though, finding himself touching his side when remembering how Ryou felt pressed there. Or staring out a window as he daydreamed about how Ryou’s hair might look under early morning light.

As he was preparing to head to Ryou’s that day, a string of texts pinged on his phone. Bakura rolled his eyes as he showered, mumbling about the notifications interrupting his shower music. When he stepped out to dry himself off and check the message, his scowl melted into a more stunned expression.

_hey sorry if its kinda early  
but i wanted to catch u b4 u left  
you dont have to come over_

_fake dating and showing malik up is good revenge  
and im kinda having fun faking this stuff?  
so no need to clean for me  
u really gotta stop making bets with him tho_

_bakura  
bakura look its us_  


Bakura’s mouth twitched into a smile at the meme, but his amusement was dampened by how close to home it hit. It’s not like Ryou _knew_ his feelings, right? Yet it still hurt, but he wouldn’t let it bother him long, texting Ryou back.

_ur the black cat ;)  
well if ur having fun then cool  
were revenge buddies now  
lets have a movie night so we can fake snuggle and u can gush to malik how cute I am_

Bakura hesitated at the last text, but sent it anyway. He didn’t care how the thought made his cheeks warm, he wanted to out-boyfriend Malik Ishtar.

And maybe get some platonic cuddling out of it too, if nothing else.

But Bakura still wanted to do things for Ryou, he realized. Aside from cleaning, he really had no plans. As he dressed himself, he realized just how quiet his apartment was. Even playing one of his games felt less enjoyable without Ryou teasing about his play style or trying to best him a good round of versus.

Bakura realized, with a hint of grief, that Ryou filled a hole in his life he never realized he had. Before all this, and the teasing from Maik, he didn’t mind being alone. But it ate at him that he had no one outside of Ryou or Malik to hang around with. The most fun he’d had in months had been the fake dates and plotting the videos and selfies, staying over at Ryou’s and playing drinking games or bets to get to know each other better for authenticity.

At some point, this stopped being about avoiding another lost bet and became a secret wish fulfillment. And maybe Bakura was just selfish enough to make the most of that.

* * *

A week after the text, Bakura snuck into Ryou’s apartment while he was out with Yugi. He had asked Malik to get Yugi to ask Ryou to hang out,since he wasn’t exactly ready to face Yugi on his own yet. Malik, of course understood, though it came with some teasing about how much of a romantic Bakura was breaking into his ‘boyfriend’s’ apartment. He knew it was a success when he’d asked Ryou to come over for another fake dating photoshoot and was told it would have to be tomorrow.

He’d grabbed all he needed, stepped into the bakery he knew Ryou loved, and bought the largest box of profiteroles he was willing to splurge on. Big and small, chocolate and icing glazed, as much as he could afford on what was likely a moot flirtatious gesture.

Just because their relationship wasn’t real didn’t mean he couldn’t spontaneously surprise Ryou.

With the box placed carefully in Ryou’s fridge, Bakura began his cleaning. He checked all the rooms to see what needed the most work (which obviously was the game/RPG room) and started there. He was there long enough to bleed into the evening, and was surprised that Ryou still hadn't come home yet.

Bakura finished the work and sat down, resting while he played with a phone game or two. Still Ryou didn’t show.

He huffed and got up, looking for a decorative plate before arranging the treats into a tower; larger profiteroles at the bottom and the smallest chocolate dusted piece on top. Bakura fought the urge to pop it in his mouth, hearing his stomach growl.

The sun went down and now Bakura was getting impatient, folding up the box and putting it away to entertain himself, organizing Ryou’s movie and game collection, even tidying up the cables of Ryou’s electronics.

_And Ryou was still not home!_

Bakura huffed, at his limit. Fuck waiting, he needed to know Ryou’s reaction now.

Bakura set up his phone in selfie mode, making the most pouty face he could in front of the profiteroles before snapping a couple pics. After playing with an obscene amount of filters, he sent Ryou one he took using the bunny filter and as many flowery stickers as he could.

The phone rang only a minute later, and he could hear Yugi’s laughter before Ryou’s voice.

“Hey Ry–”

“ _What are you doing in my apartment? What’s with the pastry tower? **How did you even get in?!**_ ”

Bakura couldn’t help a snicker, especially when Ryou’s panic seemed to only make Yugi laugh harder. “It’s a surprise, you have to come see.”

“ _Dammit Bakura, I’m in the middle of dinner and…_ ” Ryou trailed off, trying not to laugh, “ _I think you scared Atem with that selfie._ ”

Bakura barked a laugh. “Good! Shows him for peeking at other people’s phones, now hurry up and get here before I eat half of these.”

Ryou sighed. “ _Fine, you dork. I’ll bring you leftovers, Atem made everyone falafels._ ”

Bakura wrinkled his nose. “I don’t want the Pharaoh’s rabbit food.”

“ _It’s not rabbit food–_ ” A snort from Yugi in the background– “ _Okay, whatever, But you can’t complain about what I bring you instead! I’ll see you in a bit._ ”

“You don’t have to b–” Bakura’s response went ignored, as the dial tone clearly told him. He huffed and sat the the table, waiting for Ryou to _finally_ get home.

It didn’t take long, only twenty minutes before he heard Ryou open the door and slip into the kitchen. He posed leaning on his hand and smirking, ignoring how his stomach growled at the smell of food that Ryou carried in a bag.

“Nearest place was a ramen shop, it’s spicy...pork.” Ryou stared at the tower, then looked around his apartment like it was the first time he saw it.

Ryou set down the food and left to check the rooms. Bakura didn’t mind, simply getting up and taking the food Ryou got for him. He pouted seeing the falafel there anyway, but guessed it was only Ryou’s leftover dinner. Bakura was just about to dig into his ramen when Ryou came back.

“You cleaned the apartment. I told you, you don’t have to.”

Bakura shrugged, taking the first bite of his dinner. “Felt like it.”

“Why?”

The tone in Ryou’s voice sounded a little nervous, and Bakura hesitated at the idea of Ryou being _frightened_ by his advances. He didn’t look at Ryou’s eyes, missing the bit of cautious hope that hid behind them.

“Just did. And as payment for future double dates.”

Ryou seemed to relax, and he looked at the tower. He picked up the chocolate dusted tip, and sat next to Bakura. “Thanks. That’s...weirdly sweet of you.”

Bakura’s cheeks flushed, he desperately tried to cover it by slurping enough spicy broth to make his eyes water. He shrugged again, looking into the bowl. He thought he saw Ryou move to feed him the profiterole and hesitate, before just popping it into his mouth.

* * *

Bakura’s flush definitely felt genuine as Malik shoved another of Ryou’s pictures in his face, teasing him for being a sap. He grumbled and nudged Malik away, trying to focus on the game he’d taken up with Thiefy.

“You’re lucky I don’t shove your snuggle selfies in _your_ face, Malik.”

Thiefy snorted. “We don’t take snuggle selfies, we don’t have to to make ourselves look cute.”

Malik smirked, though a hint a blush touched his cheeks. “And like Ryou would send them to you...speaking of.”

Malik set aside his phone, slipping easily into Thiefy’s lap without disturbing the gameplay. “Last time we did a double date was fun, I think it’s time for another!”

Said double date had been almost two months ago now, and Ryou had said nothing about ending the charade. He was tempted to spill now, but instead… “Depends what it is.”

Malik pressed the pause button, ignoring Thiefy’s quiet sound of annoyance as he leaned closer to Bakura. “It’s an event at the museum, and I can’t bail but I’ll make it worth it for you both if you come.”

“Not sure Ryou will be up to that.”

“Well, if not, you still have me.” Thiefy said, grinning, “But seriously, we _will_ make it worth your while. We’ll share the limo with you too.”

Bakura scoffed. “Gods, I’ll ask. Don’t be surprised if he says no, though.”

In reality, he thought Ryou would be excited by the event and drag him into it anyway. The idea of doing something that formal felt weirdly intimate, even if he knew he’d have to buy something to wear to the event.

Maybe it’d be worth it to see Ryou dressed up.

Bakura set down the controller and pulled out his phone immediately texting him. Thiefy raised an eyebrow and Malik laughed. “Whoa, asking right now, huh? You got a thing for formal wear, Bakura?”

Thiefy laughed and Bakura just flipped a middle finger, watching the little dots on his phone tell him Ryou was responding.

_no  
bakura please come over  
we need to talk_

The look on Bakura’s face must’ve been jarring, because Malik sat up on Thiefy’s lap. “Bakura?”

“...I need to go. I’ll text you later.”

Bakura got up, ignoring the couple glancing at each other as he grabbed his coat.

Malik got up to follow Bakura first, Thiefy closing the game they were playing. “Are you guys okay?”

“Y’know you can talk to us if you’re having trouble–”

“Shit, did Yugi find out early?!”

“Guys.” Bakura turned around, silently happy they were supportive despite the anxious ball in his stomach from the texts. “It’s fine, I just need to go talk to Ryou. It’s not a big deal.”

“Okay…”

“No pressure on the date if you guys are working something out, yeah?”

“Right. Later guys.” Bakura waved as he stepped out into the afternoon light, worrying his lip as he headed the direction to Ryou’s apartment.

Did Ryou finally grow tired of pretending? Would he have to give up platonic cuddling to make their break-up look authentic? _Could_ he even keep hiding his growing feelings from Ryou?

The thought hit him that, somehow, Ryou had realized Bakura’s feelings and wanted to stop things completely. He didn’t care if it was all fake, but he knew Ryou would care.

Of course Ryou would, he’d hate to use Bakura like that even if he was content with that much.

Ryou met him at the front door of his apartment building, texting on his phone. He pulled open the door to let Bakura in. “Malik’s so nosy. I guess you were with him when you sent that, huh?”

“He’s texting you?”

“Yeah, asking if we’re okay and stuff. Bakura, we can’t keep doing this. We need to tell them.”

Bakura froze, shocked by how quickly Ryou got to the point. He came out of his shock just in time to scramble into the elevator after Ryou. “I thought you wanted to play this out a while.”

“I did, but I can’t do this double date–”

“That’s fine! Malik said it is, it’s–”

“Bakura, listen please.”

Bakura stopped, looking at his feet. He missed the way Ryou looked at the ceiling as if gathering his wits before continuing in a small voice. “There’s no point. You got out of paying for Malik’s bike, we can stop.”

Bakura didn’t answer, only nodding as he stared at his shoes. Not wanting to look at Ryou’s face, even as Ryou looked at him as if waiting for an answer that wouldn’t come.

The elevator opened and Ryou pushed away, calling quietly over his shoulder. “See you, Bakura.”

The hurt in Ryou’s voice made Bakura look up as the elevator doors closed again and his heart raced. Did Ryou want him to argue? Did he want to continue and was just testing him? Did he think he was playing with his feelings the same way he had done in the Ring?

His heart sank and he was desperate, so he pulled out his phone. He needed someone with experience. He dialed Malik, and the moment he picked up, Bakura spilled everything. How he’d asked Ryou to fake it, how Ryou went with it this long and how he’d started falling for Ryou the more they played it up.

He was met with a long stretch of silence, followed by a chuckle. Bakura barely heard Malik’s voice obviously turned away from the phone. “ _Bakhura, you owe me twenty bucks and a foot rub. ‘Kura confessed to faking it._ ”

Bakura heard a “ _FUCK_ ” from Thiefy before snarling into the phone. “You asshole, you knew?!”

“ _You’re not that subtle, Bakura,_ ” Malik snickered, “ _bet was for whether you’d actually end up realizing your feelings or keep playing clueless._ ”

“Fuck off.” Bakura grumbled, head hung as he walked home. “Well, he basically cut me off. Even though I think he feels the same so–”

“ _Hold on, what?!_ ”

There was jostling on the line before he heard rushed Arabic, then Thiefy laughing. Malik returned to the phone. “ _You both are hopeless, by the gods, alright… we’ll help you out. Here’s what you’ll do…_ ”

* * *

He listened to the plan for about five minutes of the half hour spent plotting to woo Ryou into his arms before promptly deciding this was something he had to do on his own.

Like hell he’d get Ryou in public to profess his love. Despite how he acted while faking things, he thought he was much more subtle than that. However the next day, as he held a bundle of flowers in his arms and made his hair as neatly brushed as he could manage, he realized that maybe he wasn’t _that_ subtle.

But if he was taking the risk, he was going to face it head on. And if Ryou didn’t return his feelings, then he’d at least clear up his intentions and see what happened from there.

Thankfully a lady that recognized him from his many visits let him in the building, smiling in a way that said ‘I wish my boyfriend did that for me’. The bit of envy of a stranger somehow strengthened his resolve, even if his palms sweat around the plastic encasing the bundle of flowers..

Bakura got off the elevator and stopped at Ryou’s door, biting his lip. He was risking a lot, but it wasn’t anything new to him. What was new was that something important to him was on the line, and he was unsure if he wanted to give that away so easily.

He took a deep breath, and a gamble, and knocked on the door.

He waited as he heard shuffling to the door, and fought to keep calm as the door opened. There Ryou stood, still a bit sleepy and in his night clothes. “B’kura? It’s pretty early...thought we stopped pretending.”

Bakura inhaled quietly, then exhaled slowly. “I’m not...pretending this time, Ryou.”

He looked at Ryou’s eyes, his stomach in knots at the surprised yet _unreadable_ look Ryou gave him. “At first, it was really just fake. But at some point it got easier to pretend. It got easier to…”

Bakura couldn’t look at Ryou’s face anymore, staring instead at the flowers. “If...you don’t feel the same, whatever. I didn’t mean to make you think I was playing with you. I just wanted to pretend you felt the same for a while, I guess.”

A stifled laugh interrupted anything else he wanted to say. Bakura was surprised to see Ryou smiling wide behind his hand, erupting into giggles again. He frowned. “I’m serious, Ryou.”

Ryou held up a finger, trying to calm his giggle-fit. It seemed to be so hard that tears fell down Ryou’s cheek.

“Gods! Okay, I get it, it’s fucking hilarious, I’ll just take these stupid flowers–”

“Wa-hait! Wait…” Ryou grabbed Bakura’s arm and Bakura pulled away.

“No, not if you’re going to make fun of me for falling for you!”

“Bakura, we’re so stupid,” Ryou giggled, tears still in his eyes. “I'm stupid.”

Before Bakura could ask what had gotten into Ryou, Ryou tugged Bakura into a passionate kiss. Bakura wanted to crush his body against Ryou’s and melt into it, but Ryou seemed to remember the flowers and pulled away. Ryou’s hand lingered over Bakura’s.

“Wh...When?”

“While shooting those videos...I kept it recording when you joked we were going to fatten the ducks. And had Malik send me the selfie you sent him. You just kept saying it was to be authentic, but everything felt so real that I…”

Bakura pushed the flowers into Ryou’s hands and cleared his throat. “I thought so too, I just didn’t want to ruin it. As cheesy as those shoots were, doing it with you was fun. I didn’t want to lose you, so I just pretended it was pretend. I told Malik everything already, so that's taken care of. I just don't want to pretend anymore.”

Ryou thought for a moment, then smiled. “Is that why Malik wanted to invite me out for lunch?”

“Eh?”

“He texted me late last night, asking to get lunch and talk about you. Something about a surprise I think too.”

Bakura huffed, his cheeks burning when he remembered Malik’s plan. “Bloody idiot, I said I would handle it.”

“You know,” Ryou said, swaying his hips in a tantalizing way as he held the flowers to his chest. “We can get him back. I think he was getting you back for embarrassing him.”

Bakura liked how Ryou looked when he schemed, his question almost coming out as a purr. “What did you have in mind, dear Ryou?”

Ryou blushed, but smirked in return. “Fake marriage proposal?”

Bakura grinned. “And you reject me, we both act upset and confused, make people feel really awkward–”

“Should we make this a bet too?”

Bakura snickered, pecking Ryou’s lips. “No, I already know Malik will regret getting so nosy about our love lives. And Thiefy will get mad because Malik will charm him into the plan.”

Ryou hummed, pulling Bakura closer and nuzzling his cheek. “I have the perfect ring to use. Come inside, let’s plot together.”

Bakura followed Ryou into his apartment happily, and easily cuddled up to Ryou as they looked through proposal videos as inspiration. It was petty, but in a weird way they could have thanked Malik for his part in them getting together.

They just didn’t want to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think...this chapter ended up much longer than the others :P And yes, the reason Thiefy is called that is because he and Bakura share a name with ONE letter difference~
> 
> Holidays made this chapter slow to come, but it's finally here and I hope you enjoyed <3

**Author's Note:**

> Coming up: Part 2 of the date and the pining begins~


End file.
